Glass-drawing apparatus.



L. A. THORNBURG. GLASS DRAWING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED 0m. 5, m0.

Patented Feb. 27, 1912.

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fnpenfor LINCOLN A. THORNBUR-G, F MUNCIE, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR'TO AMERICAN WINDOW GLASS MACHINE COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

GLASS-DRAWING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb, 27, 1912.

Application filed October 5, 1910. Serial No. 585,529.

window glass making art, and especiallyto receptacles for drawing glass cylinders by means-of a bait. Its primary ob ect is to more efficiently control the temperature conditions and facilitate the manipulation in ing chamber, the clearings-passage, and the the drawing operation.

In the accompanying drawing Figure l is a vertical section on the line 1) in Fig. 2, of a so-called (logehouse or melting furnace forehearth, and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a partial vertical sectional view on the line 8-3:of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 represents vertical and horizontal sectional views of amodification of one of the parts.

This application presents certain improvements on the apparatusset forth in my 00- pending application No. 451,474, of Septemberjin'd', 1908, (now "Patent N0. 9, f7Q,601,

of December 27th, 1910) and concerns a further improvement in the provision of a shallow body of glass for drawing, with a false bottom under the drawing point arranged to more easily clear and more definitely control the conditions of current and temperature in the glass. The body of glass fromv which the cylinder is being drawn is here essentially a closed pot with provisions for repeating the same temperature conditions over and over, and as soon as the cylinder is drawn, the pot separates so that the ring portion can be floated out and cleared, while the bottom portion is so situated as to be immediately freed of chilled glass and the like and returned. to normal condition. In other words, I present a separable pot arranged in such condition that when the parts are separated they are easily cleared of chillcd glass and can be reassembled over and over under identically the same conditions so as to produce a uniform product. i

In the drawing-the connected passages 5,-

.6, 7 and 8,.represent'respectively the mouth of a melting furnace, the intake-and-drawreturn openin to the melt ng furnace. In the drawing 0 amber 6, Iprovide a mcans,

such as the cover plate 9, to hold the floating ring 10 in place for drawing with the blowpipe 11 in the usual way. On the sides of this chamber are provided guiding recesses 12 which loosely retain the extended ends 13 of a false bottom plate 14, (shown in plan at. Fig. 4). These ends are provided with manipulating-posts 15 arranged-to connect with any eonvenient'mechanism for raising and lowering the plate, though it will be understood that plate tends to float up ward of itself. In the present instance, I

have shown a ring 16 and levers 17 and 18 connected by link 17 and operated by the piston rod 19 of a cylinder 20, which at the same time is used to raise and lower the cover plate 9 by lever 18. The passage 7 connected to chamber 6 is preferably made semicircular and is used to return the rings 10 to the melting furnace. The construe tion and operation of these parts are described in my former application and are not part of the present invention. 2

It will observed that in operation one of the-rings 10 is brought in from the melting furnace until'it 'stan ds over the, position of the plate 1 1-, which at this time is lowered or deeply submerged in the body of glass. As the ring is engaged by plate 9 the bottom plate is thereupon raised until it closely appreaches the ring, preferably coming in con-- tact with it, thus practically forming apot in the foreh'earth. The drawing thereupon proceeds just as in drawing from a pot, eX- cept that the temperature conditions remain identically the same throughout the draw,

and more glass maybe admitted if desired.

When the draw is finished and the bottom of the cylinder cut-ofi, the ring "10 with the residue of chilled glass cut from the'bottom of the cylinder which residue is" dropped back into the pot is floated away and returned to the melting chamber, while the regulating plate is again lowered to normal position, deep in the glass and cleared. Each. time a new'ring is brought in place antthe process repeated, fresh glass comes in from the tank, so that there is no reappearance of the same glass at any time. l There is thus no waiting to clear the ring or pot, the false bottom never becomes. chilled, and it remains at constant temperature and uniformly controls the glass being drawn. I

thus gain all 'the advantages of drawing from a pot, while at the same time preserving the advantages of drawing froma forehearth and a large body of molten glass.

In some instances it is advantageous to.

' specially cool the false bottom plate 14, and

in this case it may be made hollow and connected with air ducts 23, 24, in the posts 15 or other means used for raising and lowering the plate, and fed by flexible pipe 25, as

' shown in section and plan in Fig. 4.

therein consisting of a oating ring and a removable bottom for the ring.

- 2. In" glass drawing apparatus, the combination with a vessel providing a. body of Y molten glass, of a separable drawing pot in said body of glass and means to remove the parts of said pot from the drawing point and melt out the residue glass substanvtially as described.

3. The combination with a containing vessel and a series offloating rings therein, of a vertically movable false bottom for said rings having mechanism to raise and lower it in place as. the rings successively are brought over said bottom.

. floating rings, a

4. In glass drawing apparatus, a glass";

containingvessel 'rovided with a series of able false bottom for said rings in said.

rawing chamber, a movchamber, and'mechanism to raise and lower said false bottom. a

5. In glass drawing '35 apparatus, a glass containing vessel provided with a series 'of floating rings, a drawing chamber, a mov-' able false bottom for said rings in said chamber, and mechanism to raiseandlower said false bottom and a topstone vfor said chamber simultaneously operated by the 'samemeans. 6. A lass floatin a bath of molten glass and composed of separable parts forming," when joined, a'closedpot.

7. The combination with a furnacehaving amelting chamber, adrawing chamber and a return'passage to thelmeltmgnchamdrawing receptacle adapted to j her, of a series of floating rings, a sub-' merged vertically movable bottom plate in the drawing chamber and means to successively place said rings on said plate to form a temporary closed drawing vessel and then separate and clear the rings and plate in the main body of glass. Intestimony whereof I have hereunto signed my subscribed witnesses.

Y his Y LINCOLN A. X THOBN'BURG. mar

Witnesses: I

C AS. S. LnPLnY, v FREDK. STAUB.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the dommissioner of latents,

Washington, D,

name in the presence of the two 

